1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a protective cover which will encase the air valve bracket often attached to, and protruding from, the steering column of the tractor of a tractor-trailer rig, and will deflect the knees of the driver of such vehicle away from said protruding bracket in the event of a collision, thereby preventing serious injury to the knees of a driver involved in a collision.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art discloses no knee protective devices specifically designed for use on larger trucks. Among existing patents, the only one at all close to my structure is U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,704, assigned to Toyota. The Toyota patent is aimed at protecting the driver's knees from injury caused by the knees hitting the steering column itself, rather than protecting the knees from impact with hardware attached to the steering column. The more general purpose of the Toyota patent results in a device which would actually be a hindrance if placed in a tractor-trailer cab; specifically, it would either interfere with or completely block the following: the oil pressure gauge and heat gauge and turn signal on the left hand of the steering post, and the air pressure gauge and fuel gauge on the right hand side of the steering post.
Finally, the complexity of the Toyota device renders it infeasible for retrofitting on tractor-trailer trucks presently on the road. Yet such a device is precisely what is needed. Many drivers of tractor-trailer trucks have been pemanently disabled because of knee injuries received when they were thrown into the air valve bracket. Such injuries continue to occur at an alarming rate. My invention would provide the first economical, easily retrofitted knee protective device for tractor-trailer trucks of which I am aware. I have been a driver of such trucks for many years.